The R Bar in the Arena District had a terrible year during the Columbus Blue Jackets' dreadful 2015-16 campaign. This season has been different - for everyone. The Blue Jackets are the top team in the National Hockey League, having won 16 in a row until they lost Thursday for the first time since November, and they are playing the best hockey in the franchise's history. Things are pretty good at R Bar, too.

JD Malone, The Columbus Dispatch

The R Bar in the Arena District had a terrible year during the Columbus Blue Jackets’ dreadful 2015-16 campaign. This season has been different — for everyone.

The Blue Jackets are the top team in the National Hockey League, having won 16 in a row until they lost Thursday for the first time since November, and they are playing the best hockey in the franchise’s history. Things are pretty good at R Bar, too.

“Last year was probably our worst year,” R Bar owner Mike Darr said. “This year is probably our best, and it started off really slow.”

So did the Jackets, who dropped their first two games to start the season in October; however, those have been followed by only four regulation losses since.

Attendance through the Jackets’ first 19 home games averaged 14,682, 26th out of 30 NHL teams, but the crowds grew substantially in December, a month that saw the Jackets go undefeated, spurring several sellouts at Nationwide Arena.

The Jackets have never been this good, but even when they have performed well in the past, December hasn’t been a busy time, Darr said.

“The difference is how early it is happening,” he said. “We never would see a push in December like we did this year. The surge happens later in January, after football is over.”

It is the same story at Nada, Ted’s Montana Grill and other bars and restaurants near the arena.

“We are experiencing similar guest counts as in past years, but our after-game rush is stronger," said Scott Thompson, proprietor of Ted’s Montana Grill. “The casual fans are picking up."

Some of the added traffic to Arena District establishments could be from the lack of a replacement for Dick’s Last Resort, which closed in early November. That bar and restaurant occupied a prominent, large space just across from Nationwide Arena.

At the time Dick’s closed, Bob Welcher, president of Restaurant Consultants Inc., told The Dispatch that the district can be hard on businesses because crowds are somewhat dependent on events and games at Nationwide Arena.

“If there is nothing happening down there, people don’t go,” Welcher said.

The Blue Jackets’ success, though, has put a wrinkle in that idea. Even when the Jackets are out of town, things have been busier of late, Thompson said.

“People are also coming down for away games; we’ve seen that uptick,” Darr said. “We expect a big crowd just to come and watch an away game.”

On game nights, the puck drops at 7 p.m., but the crowds arrive in the district much earlier. As the Jackets’ streak extended through December, interest swelled, and fans are arriving at district watering holes and restaurants earlier than usual.

“It’s an exciting time to be a Blue Jackets fan, and the pre-game crew has been strong,” said Colin Gregory, general manager at Nada.

“During the season, we are always the first one to be busy,” Darr said of R Bar. “Now, we’re seeing our tables fill up a half-hour earlier.”

“The best bet is to get here early,” Thompson said — “4 to 4:30 p.m., because we are packed by then.”

Ted’s takes few reservations for game nights, so good luck if you can’t get there before the crowd this weekend.

Darr also sees the Jackets’ success in his other Arena District business: the Three-legged Mare.

“The Mare always has a decent crowd that eat dinner, go to the game and maybe come back for a drink after game,” Darr said. “Now there are people that just stay here and hang out during the game.”

All the extra traffic this early in the season has Darr doing something he almost never does at this time of year — hiring. He wants to build the staff up to the levels that R Bar and the Three-legged Mare had during the Jackets playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins in April 2014.

“I haven’t seen anything like this,” Darr said. “I am writing an ad right now to hire more staff.”

jmalone@dispatch.com

@j_d_malone

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